Reclaimed Wall Art: Making Big Knots With Recycled Rope with Sitoë Thiam
To sign up for this class, please use the above Luma Link
We’re basically making a giant friendship bracelet for your wall 🪢 Learn the basics of macrame to design your own knotted rope wall hanging using reclaimed climbing rope! All materials provided.
About the Instructor: Sitoë Thiam (b. 1997) is a Brooklyn-born, San Diego-based fiber artist and designer exploring how modern tools and traditional techniques can transform waste materials into functional works of art. She worked as a Mechanical Engineer for 5 years before starting Unknot, her art studio and brand in 2024. Now Sitoë knots colorful compositions, designs accessories, and experiments with unexpected materials.
Sitoë’s love of intuitive design, sustainability, fashion, and local foraging (of the natural and trash variety) drives her work. Weaving these interests together has led to three paths of research and art practice: 1) weaving and knotting whimsical, wearable art, and designing tools that make it possible, 2) testing traditional fiber art techniques and technologies on secondhand and discarded materials, and 3) exploring education strategies for these traditional arts in ways that feel accessible and approachable!
Artist and engineer Sitoë Thiam will teach you macramé fundamentals and a few basic knots to transform old, retired climbing rope into a sculptural wall hanging of your own design! You’ll get a brief history on the art of knotting, then dive into some hands-on instruction for how to make the Square knot and many of its variations. Next, Sitoë will cover some composition rules and tips. Finally, you’ll get to design and knot your own climbing rope wall hanging to bring home and adorn your space! The workshop is designed for all skill levels and is beginner friendly. So if you’re looking to find a new use for some old rope, or just want to learn a new, hands-on craft, this workshop is for you!
All the rope for this workshop was sourced secondhand from climbers and climbing gyms! After years of use, ropes take on enough damage to become a safety risk and need to be retired from climbing. But, they’re still great crafting material! Macrame is one of the classic ways to use old climbing rope and give it new life.
What to Bring:
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Just bring yourself
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Optional: your old (washed) climbing rope!
What’s Provided:
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24 yds rope
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Cutting tools and work surfaces
What You’ll Walk Away With
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A one-of-one artwork designed and knotted by you to adorn your space
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A few foundational knots
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Built intuition around the art of macrame
Skills Used:
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Fundamentals of macrame
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The square knot, plus 3 variations
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Spiral
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Winged
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Spaced
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Fiber art composition techniques